What is required for a player to be allowed to move freely to a new club without compensation?

For a player to be allowed to move freely to a new club without any compensation, the expiration of the player's existing contract is an essential requirement. When a player's contract expires, they are no longer bound by any legal obligations to their previous club, which means they can sign with any new club of their choosing without the necessity for a transfer fee or agreement.

This notion is fundamental to player movement in professional sports, as it allows athletes to negotiate new opportunities and terms with prospective clubs without the barriers that typically accompany a transfer where compensation might be required. A valid transfer agreement or the involvement of both clubs usually comes into play only when the player is still under contract, and approval from clubs and payment of a transfer fee are mechanisms for those scenarios. Thus, the expiration of the existing contract is the key event that grants the player this freedom.